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Feb 12, 2016

The Age of Digital Platform Censorship

We are witnessing the dawn of the age of Digital Platform Censorship (DPC), which is censorship on a global scale.

DPC doesn’t originate from any government, but, in its way, it can
have a far greater impact than any nation-wide ban. For in the Current
Year, if you don’t exist on Twitter or in a Google search—or if you’re
book doesn’t appear on Amazon—you effectively don’t exist.

The fact that DPC is not occurring at the behest of a state—and does
not have any overt partisan agenda—means that it is difficult to
understand and is easily obscured through langue. In fact, those who
administer Digital Platform Censorship do so in the name of “free
speech” (and many of them genuinely believe that they are protecting
“free speech.”)

Exhibit A: Twitter’s new, Orwellianly named “Trust and Safety Council.”
Twitter is famous for 140-character concision. But its statement is vague, rambling, and opaque. Let me try to translate.

On Twitter, every voice has the power to shape the world. We see
this power every day, from activists who use Twitter to mobilize
citizens to content creators who use Twitter to shape opinion.

Translation: We don't want every voice to have the power to shape the world.

To ensure people can continue to express themselves freely and safely on Twitter, we must provide more tools and policies.

With hundreds of millions of Tweets sent per day, the volume of
content on Twitter is massive, which makes it extraordinarily complex to
strike the right balance between fighting abuse and speaking truth to
power. It requires a multi-layered approach where each of our 320
million users has a part to play, as do the community of experts working
for safety and free expression.

Translation: No one body can keep up with billions of tweets. So we need self-policing. Don’t suspect a follower of racism or sexism—report him!

That’s why we are announcing the formation of the Twitter Trust
& Safety Council, a new and foundational part of our strategy to
ensure that people feel safe expressing themselves on Twitter.

Translation: Now that we are openly banning people for thought crimes, you’ll finally feel safe to express yourself.

As we develop products, policies, and programs, our Trust &
Safety Council will help us tap into the expertise and input of
organizations at the intersection of these issues more efficiently and
quickly. In developing the Council, we are taking a global and inclusive
approach so that we can hear a diversity of voices from organizations
including: Safety advocates, academics, and researchers focused on
minors, media literacy, digital citizenship, and efforts around greater
compassion and empathy on the Internet; Grassroots advocacy
organizations that rely on Twitter to build movements and momentum;
Community groups with an acute need to prevent abuse, harassment, and
bullying, as well as mental health and suicide prevention.

Most of these groups are child safety advocates, which gives the
council an untouchable, “how could you possibly be against this!?” aura.

The inclusion of Anita Sarkeesian’s Feminist Frequency and, most of all, the Anti-Defamation League
demonstrate that White racial consciousness and langauge that is deemed
“anti-Semitic” or “misogynist” will be looked upon as the equivalent of
child pornography and drug trafficking.